Question Dropped a screwdriver on my mobo

[MoD__7]

Hi all, i accidentally dropped my screwdriver on my motherboard while building my pc. Thankfully the pc turned on and it is functioning normally. But i noticed i have hiccups while playing most of my games (when using rivatuner i realized it was due to frame timings variance). Very few games play without hiccups and now am afraid there is something with my motherboard. I attached a pic of the area that the screwdriver dropped on. It seems that it damaged it a bit.

Pic 1

Pic 2( zoomed in)

 

[Deleted member 14196]

You probably didn’t hurt it if power was off

 

[MoD__7]

You probably didn’t hurt it if power was off

It was of yes. If you look closely there are traces where the damage is. Is that ok?

 

[AllanGH]

If the "damaged traces" are completely cut through, then, NO, it's not OK. (Microscopic examination will confirm or disprove this.)

Unless you can bridge the breaks with wire and solder, you're likely in the market for a new MB.

 

[MoD__7]

If the "damaged traces" are completely cut through, then, NO, it's not OK. (Microscopic examination will confirm or disprove this.)

Unless you can bridge the breaks with wire and solder, you're likely in the market for a new MB.

Even if the damage is like a scratch? Like there is no depth to the damage (at least that how it feels when i touch it ), thnx for your reply

 

[CountMike]

modern MBs have a coat of insulation on top, it would have to be very deep hit to go thru and cut a trace and then you would have more serious troubles.
Your trouble seem to be more of settings and driver nature.

 

[MoD__7]

modern MBs have a coat of insulation on top, it would have to be very deep hit to go thru and cut a trace and then you would have more serious troubles.
Your trouble seem to be more of settings and driver nature.

That is a relief!, thank you.

To be honest i don't play with the settings much so i will try that. Thanks again

 

[AllanGH]

Even if the damage is like a scratch?

If the damage is "like a scratch" on the soldermask, and "microscopic examination" confirms that the traces are intact; then the traces are not "completely cut through", then you have nothing to worry about, do you?

If, on the other hand, "microscopic examination" reveals that the traces are compromised, then you need to take remedial action of one kind or another.

THAT was the point of my response to you...you need to get some good light on the area, and inspect the traces under high magnification to determine the true condition of the potentially affected traces. "Microscopic examination will confirm or disprove this."

This will tell you positively IF you are dealing with the worst case scenario (which is the case that I spoke of directly and requires action on your part); or IF you are dealing with the better outcome that I left implied, where doing nothing is acceptable. (Was it actually necessary to say that, if the traces are not damaged, you don't need to do anything?)

modern MBs have a coat of insulation on top, it would have to be very deep hit to go thru and cut a trace...

You would be surprised at some of the boards that I've been handed to repair. What looks like nothing but just a bare whitening of the soldermask can hide a parted trace underneath; and, only after removing that section of the soldermask, is the break in the copper visible.

While "modern" PC boards do seem to have a thicker soldermask layer, these days, the traces are even thinner than they used to be in the 80's and 90', and thus, are more susceptible to damage than they used to be--just bending a PC board raises the risk of breaking multiple traces on the surface of the board on the convex side of the bend--or, even on an internal layer.

A dropped screwdriver, landing on its business end, CAN cut a trace very easily, leaving no real evidence of catastrophic damage; and I have to admit that I have done as much, myself, back in a time when the traces were much easier to repair.

Funny. After all these years, that still bugs me now and then. ::: shrug :::

 

[MoD__7]

If the damage is "like a scratch" on the soldermask, and "microscopic examination" confirms that the traces are intact; then the traces are not "completely cut through", then you have nothing to worry about, do you?

If, on the other hand, "microscopic examination" reveals that the traces are compromised, then you need to take remedial action of one kind or another.

THAT was the point of my response to you...you need to get some good light on the area, and inspect the traces under high magnification to determine the true condition of the potentially affected traces. "Microscopic examination will confirm or disprove this."

This will tell you positively IF you are dealing with the worst case scenario (which is the case that I spoke of directly and requires action on your part); or IF you are dealing with the better outcome that I left implied, where doing nothing is acceptable. (Was it actually necessary to say that, if the traces are not damaged, you don't need to do anything?)



You would be surprised at some of the boards that I've been handed to repair. What looks like nothing but just a bare whitening of the soldermask can hide a parted trace underneath; and, only after removing that section of the soldermask, is the break in the copper visible.

While "modern" PC boards do seem to have a thicker soldermask layer, these days, the traces are even thinner than they used to be in the 80's and 90', and thus, are more susceptible to damage than they used to be--just bending a PC board raises the risk of breaking multiple traces on the surface of the board on the convex side of the bend--or, even on an internal layer.

A dropped screwdriver, landing on its business end, CAN cut a trace very easily, leaving no real evidence of catastrophic damage; and I have to admit that I have done as much, myself, back in a time when the traces were much easier to repair.

Funny. After all these years, that still bugs me now and then. ::: shrug :::

I see, thanks alot for taking the time. I will look into it ... Dang it this is my first pc, I was imagining a joyous ride 🤣.

It is good to have an input from someone with experience. Again thank you verymuch